As the World Falls Down
by Blue Skies Rusty
Summary: Movie verse A young psychic finds herself at the B.P.R.D looking for help. Will the team manage to help her or will she be the key in a plot to take over the world? possible Abemance haven't decided
1. Prologue

**A/n: **Okay. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a horrible writer for never being able to finish a story, but... I can't help myself. I'm sure that when my fleeting obsession returns to whatever my other stories happen to based on, I'll manage to finish them. Until that day; enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **If you recognize it, I don't own it.

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_**As the World Falls Down**_

_**Prologue**_

At three o'clock a.m., Serena collapsed onto her forest green sofa with a heavy sigh. It had been another long night at the bar, where she worked. Her feet were throbbing and her eyes were dry from the smoky atmosphere and itched with exhaustion. Despite the perpetual loud voices of drunken people and the even louder music of the bar, Serena's head spun and ached for a very different reason.

In the past few weeks, the normally level-headed and calm woman had been hiding stress and anxiety from everyone she encountered. She had been clenching and unclenching her jaws-- the only sure indicator to her anger or anxiety-- so frequently she was surprised her teeth hadn't shattered long ago.

She lay on the couch, too drained to even drag herself the whopping ten feet across her small apartment to the kitchen for some kind of nourishment or another. And with the hunger pangs relentlessly harassing her stomach, she closed her eyes and began to doze off.

_Brrriiiiing! Brrriiiing!_

A loud groan escaped Serena as her phone rang. Cracking open a hazel eye she glared at the offending object with malice.

_Brrrrriiiiing! Brrrrriiiing!_

Her heart leapt as she suddenly realized that the call could have something to do with her current situation. Amazingly she managed to force herself into a sitting position and extended her hand towards the phone, her entire mind bending towards it. From where it hung on the wall of her small kitchen, the phone flew into her outstretched hand and Serena expertly wrapped her fingers around it and brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked quickly. "Dulcie, is that you?"

The voice on the other end was unmistakably that of her good friend, Dulcie. The only one of their circle of friends, other than Serena, left remaining.

"Serena," the voice whimpered. It was full of fear and she could practically hear the tears that were streaming down Dulcie's face.

"Dulcie where are you! What's wrong?" Serena shot to her feet, staring at the wall in front of her, listening intently for her friend's reply. Subconsciously her jaw began to clench and unclench.

There was a shuddering breath from Dulcie's end as she tried to breathe through her panic-induced sobs. "They're here," she whimpered through the phone. "They've come to take me too." She had barely got out her last sentence before her voice broke with a fresh sob.

Serena's heart dropped and for the first time in a long time, she was scrambling to remain calm. "Dulcie," she managed to get out as the same panic and fear her friend was experiencing began to wash over her as well. "Can…can you hold them off?"

"I'm trying," Dulcie managed to choke out between sobs. "I don't think I can do it much longer."

"Try!" Serena shouted as she struggled to pull on her boots, cursing herself for not being able to astral-project. "You have to try to hold them off until I can get there! Do you hear me Dulcie?"

There was another shuddering breath from Dulcie. "I'm so scared," she whispered.

Serena opened her mouth to respond. To comfort her only remaining friend but she didn't have the time. A piercing scream filled her ears and Serena's heart leapt to her throat. There was a thud as Dulcie's phone was dropped and her screams became muffled by the sounds of a struggle.

"Dulcie!" Serena screamed into the phone. "_DULCIE!_"

A fresh scream erupted from Dulcie. There was a sharp _crack!_ and the scream was suddenly cut short.

Silence. It came upon her like a predator pouncing on its prey. It pounded in her ears like drums and was far more deafening than any noise she had ever heard.

The phone fell from Serena's hand and clattered to the floor as tears streamed down her face.

She was alone.

And she was next.


	2. Chapter One

**A/N: **I got no reviews on the prologue. Ten hits and zero reviews… there was one alert though and I'd like to thank that person for showing some sort of liking towards my story. Just to pre-warn anyone who is actually planning on reading the rest of the story; there probably won't be much action until the third chapter or so.

Also, it's been a while since I've seen the movie (I'm currently working on finding a way to get to the video store so I can rent it or paying off my outstanding debt at the library so I can borrow it from them) so if the characters seem OOC, let me know and I'll try to fix it. Pointers on putting them back in character would be very helpful.

Enjoy! And R&R, please!

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Hellboy or any of the Hellboy characters/ideas. I'd be a lot richer if I did.

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_**As the World Falls Down**_

_**Chapter One**_

"If you don't mind me askin' miss," the cab driver said as Serena handed him the fare plus a hefty tip. "But what's a girl like you doin' at a waste management place?"

Serena gave him a fake gracious smile. "Giving a cabbie who asks too many questions a large tip in order to avoid said questions."

The man gave her a strange look with his beady eyes before he accepted the money and drove away. She waited until he had rounded the corner before she turned back to the building. It was a simple looking building and had the appearance of, as the sign read, a waste management facility.

Walking up to the wrought iron gates, Serena gazed ahead at the building and sighed. It was absolutely ridiculous but it was, sadly, her only hope.

She pressed the button on the intercom and a bored voice crackled back at her. "Yes?"

"Uh… my name is Serena Williams," she said into the intercom, wondering exactly what she could say to explain her situation. She decided to go with something simple. "I have a… problem and I was told to come here for help…" She trailed off and waited for the crackling voice to respond but it didn't.

With a loud, squeaky groan, the iron gates swung open. Hesitantly she stepped forward and began to walk down the long drive to the front door of the building. She gave a slight jump as the gates closed behind her with a loud clang. _Well_, she thought. _Guess I have no choice now… not that I had much of a choice to begin with._

Upon entering the large front doors of the building, Serena was met by two men in uniform. With a quick glance to the nightsticks and guns that hung from their belts, she assumed they were guards. This made her a little more confident that she was, in fact, at the right place. Why would a waste management facility need armed guards?

"This way ma'am," said the taller of the two guards, taking her elbow and leading her deeper into the building while the other one followed close behind.

They entered a cavernous hall with a marble floor. In the center of the floor was a circular emblem of a hand holding a sword. At the far end of the hall sat another guard at a desk. He looked up from his magazine with barely an ounce of interest.

"What kind of help do you need," asked the man at the desk, eyeing Serena.

For a moment she didn't know what to say. Should she tell him the whole story? Should she even tell him the truth? Taking a deep breath she met his gaze and said, "The supernatural kind."

She had half expected him to at least bat a lash at her but he didn't. He turned his gaze back to the magazine. This was further evidence that she was in the right place. "Ask for Myers," the guard at the desk said simply as the two men flanking Serena parted and left her standing there.

"And watch your elbows." She barely had time to wonder at this because he had hit a button and the emblem on which she stood began to lower. Serena was momentarily caught off guard, but regained her composure before anyone could notice.

After what seemed like an eternally slow ride, the lift had come to a stop in front of a large metal door. Serena stepped forward, figuring that's where she had to go as there weren't any other obvious options.

As she approached the large metal door, it slid open and Serena cautiously poked her head inside. Her eyebrows raised slightly at the enormous library she now stood in. The shelves reached from the floor all the way up to the ceiling and there was even a second floor, made accessible by a spiraling metal staircase. There were large couches, tables, reading lamps, a fireplace, and large overstuffed chairs. Serena momentarily wondered if she were in heaven. Then her eyes fell upon a young man, her age, standing in front of a very large fish tank which took up an entire wall but appeared empty.

He turned to look at her, momentarily confused. "Can I help you?" he asked, clearly wondering how she had gotten there.

"Yes," Serena replied after a moment. She stepped forward. "The man at the desk told me to look for someone by the name of Myers? He wasn't the most helpful person I've met." she gave a small smile to attempt to lighten the situation.

The young man gave a small laugh. "Yeah, I know," he muttered. Then he came forward and shook Serena's hand. "I'm special agent John Myers.

As Serena was about to reply she felt an all too familiar tickle in her mind. _Please leave,_ she thought clearly. Her thought was promptly followed by another tickle, a sign that whomever had invaded her mind was now gone.

"Is something wrong," John Myers was asking her, looking genuinely concerned.

"Ah, no," replied Serena with a smile, realizing that she hadn't yet introduced herself. "My name is Serena Williams."

"Pleasure to meet you," John said almost shyly. Then he began to lead Serena further into the library. "What brings you to the B.P.R.D.?"

She couldn't stop her brows from furrowing. "B.P.R.D.?" she repeated questioningly.

For a moment Myers floundered. "This is the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense," he explained at last.

"Oh…" Serena was just as lost as he was. "I suppose I should explain exactly why I'm here."

"That would be a good start," Myers said as he guided her to one of the overstuffed chairs she had been admiring. It was right by the glowing embers in the fireplace and Myers took the seat facing her own.

Taking a deep breath, Serena closed her eyes and sorted out her thoughts, trying to decide where to begin. As she opened her eyes and looked to the patiently awaiting Meyers, two things happened almost at the same time.

One was that a tall, lean man approached. Only, Serena realized, he wasn't really a man. He was more of a fish-man. His skin--_ or are they scales?_-- was a strange combination of green and blue with darker markings that could definitely pass for stripes. He had large black eyes that looked at Serena with what she assumed was curiosity, considering his head was titled slightly to the side. Serena also noted that the fish-man had gills on the sides of his neck.

"Um…" She looked at him, completely dumbfounded. "Hi?" Serena knew there were strange things the world; she was quite strange herself, and it was her own strangeness that had left her open-minded. But never in her life did she expect to be in the presence of a fish-man.

"Hello," replied the fish-man. He seemed to be expecting some sort of reaction from her but she remained calm.

Before they could exchange introductions, a hulking mass of red joined the group. "Myers, where'd my stash go?"

Once again Serena could only look on and blink. Before her stood the very creature on which the popular comics were based. Hellboy stood there, looking down at John Myers from a most impressive height, a cigar clamped between his teeth. His black hair was pulled back and his red skin seemed to clash defiantly with the fish-man's own blue-green skin. As Serena observed him, she noticed that on his forehead were two horns, or there would be, but they had been filed down to stubs.

Myers opened his mouth to respond but Hellboy cut him off when he turned to see Serena looking up at him. "What," he growled at her, making her blink again. He turned back to Myers and nodded in Serena's direction. "You finally gonna get laid?"

Stifling her laughter, Serena turned to look at John Myers who was floundering helplessly. It was a sad attempt, on his part, to find words and Serena jumped in to save him.

"I'm Serena Williams," she said, standing. For a moment she thought about extending her hand for a shake but eyed Hellboy's stone right hand and thought better of it. "You, of course, are Hellboy." She turned to the fish-man who had now tilted his head to the other side. "I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"Abe Sapien," replied the fish-man. "Welcome to the B.P.R.D." As he spoke Serena felt the tickle in her mind again.

With a smile she said, "A pleasure to meet you. Find my mind interesting?" There was a second tickle as he withdrew.

"My apologies." Abe gave a slight nod for emphasis.

With a knowing and kind smile, Serena silently accepted his apology and turned back to Hellboy and Myers who were looking at her expectantly. "I suppose you would all like that explanation now."

"No. We were hoping to guess," replied Hellboy cynically.

"Be nice, Red." As Abe spoke he took one of the two remaining seats by the fireplace. Hellboy followed his lead and plopped his large, muscular frame into the last chair.

Serena smiled at Abe gratefully before she began to explain. "I am a psychic," she stated matter-of-factly. "Telekinetic to be more specific. My parents had always tried to squash it out of me, not understanding that it simply wasn't possible going to work that way. When I was thirteen my abilities began to get out of control, more so than before. A few months after the problems started, a woman came to our home. Her name was Sophie."

"What does this have to do with how you know Abe can read minds," asked the impatient Hellboy.

"I was getting there," sighed Serena. "Sophie convinced my parents to let her take me away-- something that didn't take much effort on her part. She brought me to a haven for physics where she taught me how to control my telekinesis and while I was there I learned how to tell when a telepath was entering my mind." At this point Serena glanced at Abe.

"Why haven't we heard of this place?" Again Hellboy interrupted but this time he was thinking of his pyrokinetic girlfriend.

"It's a very well kept secret," Serena replied with a slight shrug and a wry smile. "Anyway. While I was there, I made a few friends. They were all psychics like myself, and they each had their own unique ability. We grew up in the haven together, returning to the civilized world when all of our skills had been perfected. That was three years ago and we've kept in very close contact."

Myers, who had yet to speak during her explanation, finally asked a question. "So, what brings you here?"

Serena looked down at her hands. "Two weeks ago, my friends started to mysteriously vanish. At first it was Sibyl, she tended to go on vacations without informing us, so we didn't think anything of it. That is, until Morissa disappeared. We were all really worried because it wasn't like her to do something like that. We called the police but they're useless." She shook her head and paused for a moment.

"Two more of my friends had also disappeared without a trace, Joy and Martina. They all went missing within a few days of each other and during the ordeal we had met and tried think of why this was happening. We had no idea and even less of a clue as to what we should do. The police weren't helping and we knew no matter where we went, we'd eventually be found. After Joy and Martina, it was down to just Dulcie, a defenseless channeler and myself." Her eyes began to tear up as she remembered the previous night.

"Take your time," Abe said, reaching over and patting her hand and discreetly getting an instant reading.

Sniffling slightly, Serena took a deep, shuddering breath and plunged on. "At two o'clock this morning my phone rang. It was Dulcie and she was hysterical. She told me that 'they' were there and she was doing all she could to hold them off. I can just picture her huddling on the floor of her closet…" her voice broke for a moment. "I tried to get to her but before I could even leave my apartment… she was gone. 'They' had gotten her. I left my apartment immediately. I didn't even bother to pack any clothes. I took a train into New Jersey from New York and then a cab here."

"How did you know to come here," Abe asked quietly.

"Sophie," Serena replied. "Before we left her, she had told us that in case we ever found ourselves in a situation that our abilities couldn't get us out of, to come here. All she did was give each of us a slip of paper with the address. Nothing else. None of us even remembered it until I came across it in my address book this morning."

There was silence for a long moment, an opportunity which Serena used to get a hold of herself. She brushed the tears off her cheeks and sat up a little straighter.

"Well," said Myers, standing up. "You're more than welcome to stay here until we can get everything fixed for you. We'll start looking for your friends right away, though we might need your help."

"Thank you," whispered Serena. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"There's no need to thank us," Abe said, standing up. "We're more than happy to help."

With a grateful and slightly teary smile, Serena followed Myers out of the library and down a hall. For the first time in the last two weeks, the burden that had placed itself on her shoulders had lifted slightly. She had a glimmer of hope for both herself and her friends.


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N: **I'm still not getting many reviews (insert sad face here). Please review. Anything would be nice. Even a one word review would be good. As long as its something that let's me know people are actually reading this, I'll be happy.

As I said last time, if the characters seem OOC, please let me know and I'll do my best to fix the issue.

Also, thanks to my two reviewers. Jett, I can always count on you! And Pashtess, thank you for the support. I figured Abe might be curious and momentarily forget his manners ) As for having me on your alert list; thanks again. I didn't realize people are still waiting for updates on those. Haha.

Enjoy. PLEASE R&R!

* * *

_**As the World Falls Down**_

_**Chapter Two**_

"What do you think," Myers asked Abe when he reentered the library where he had left the two 'freaks'. Serena was in her room and hoped that she would stay there at least until he had a chance to tell his superior about her.

Swimming up to the glass window of his tank, Abe replied. "She was telling the truth." He thought back to the quick reading he had gotten when he touched her hand and remembered the vivid image of Serena in tears as her friend screamed from the other end of the phone. "She doesn't know what happened to them but she has a strong feeling that it's not good."

"I always thought being kidnapped would be fun," Hellboy put in sarcastically.

Ignoring his friend, Abe continued. "For someone under so much stress her thoughts were fairly calm. She believes that whoever is kidnapping her friends is either specifically targeting psychics or those who have been to this haven."

"I'll have to go talk to Manning about helping her," Myers said, tiredly. He really wasn't looking forward to a visit with his boss. "Once he gives the okay we'll go to her friend's apartment and see if we can find anything."

Myers quickly turned to leave. He secretly hoped that if he managed to get out of the library fast enough, Hellboy would forget that he was going to threaten him. He had no such luck.

"Myers," barked Hellboy. John stopped dead in his tracks. "Where'd all my Baby Ruth's go?"

John sighed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Once John Myers had left, Serena looked around the small room. It had no windows but was still well lit. The entire room seemed to be white washed, all the way from the white walls and carpeting to the small white dresser that sat in a corner. It had all the furniture of a hotel room, just not the color.

With a sigh, Serena planted her right hand on one of the walls and closed her eyes. She concentrated for a moment and when she opened her eyes, a light blue was spreading out from her hand, consuming the stark white walls and changing the color of the paint.

Removing her hand, she stood back and admired her work. It was always interesting to watch paint change color like that. She had "repainted" her apartment many times when she was bored, just because she like the way the color spread and tainted everything it touched.

When the walls were all a robin's egg color, Serena turned to the dresser in the corner and touched a fingertip to it. Almost immediately, the white plastic turned to a light sea green which seemed to match oddly with the robin's egg color of the walls.

Fifteen minutes later, after trying different shades on different surfaces, Serena stood back, satisfied with her new room. The walls were and dresser were still the first colors she had tried on them. The carpet was a swirl of light green and light blue and the nightstand and lamp had been changed to pastel shades of blue. Her bed had taken the most time. Serena had changed the white bedspread to the perfect teal with flowers of different shades of blue covering it. She briefly wondered where the theme had come from but quickly brushed the thought aside.

Sitting on the bed, Serena rubbed her eyes. Redecorating had only lasted so long and now her mind was drifting back to her friends. Where were they? Were they hurt? Were they even alive? Was their kidnapper going to kill them if they were still alive? Could she get there in time? Her entire world was falling apart, crumbling and turning to dust around her and she felt completely helpless.

The frustration seemed to build with every question until her lamp began to rattle on the nightstand. Realizing that her emotions were getting the better of her, Serena took a calming breath and the lamp stopped shaking. She needed to get out of the room. She desperately needed a distraction. Maybe a good book would help her.

It didn't take long for her to navigate the halls of the B.P.R.D. Within three minutes she had found her way to the library again. It seemed to be empty and silent which was how she liked libraries.

She began to browse the shelves. Many of the books were about the occult but the library seemed to have everything a normal public library would have, save a children's section. She found books ranging from Shakespeare and Jane Austin to Freud and Thoreau with everything in between. Serena even found a section dedicated to ancient texts, most of which were in languages she didn't understand or even recognize.

"Enjoying the selection?" The voice came out of nowhere and took Serena by surprise. She spun around with a look like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Immediately she began to apologize. "I'm sorry. I…" she trailed off when she didn't see anyone. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Where are you?"

"Here," said the voice and Abe appeared at one of the windows of the fish tank.

Serena approached, stopping beside four book stands, each with an open book. "Is that where you sleep?"

"Yes," he replied, watching her. He blinked, his eyelids coming from the sides of his eyes and Serena smiled slightly. "You find me amusing." It was a gentle statement, not accusing or angry. Just a simple statement as if he were pointing out that it was raining.

Feeling slightly ashamed, Serena looked at the book stand beside her. "Not amusing so much as… interesting." she looked back to him with a small smile. "It's not every day you get to meet a merman."

"Merman," Abe repeated, thoughtfully. He mulled the word over for a minute. "That's something I haven't been called before."

"Glad to be the first then," Serena grinned at him. Her eyes fell on a small sign near the tank. "Icthyo Sapien?" She looked back up to him questioningly.

"When the B.P.R.D. found me, there was only a slip of paper identifying me as an Icthyo Sapien and with the date, April 14th, 1865."

For a minute Serena thought about the date and remembered its significance. "The day of Abraham Lincoln's assassination?" He nodded. "Wow. That's pretty impressive." She settled down into a chair that was facing Abe's tank. "So, what exactly can you do? I mean, I know you're telepathic but I have a feeling it doesn't end there."

Before he answered, Abe drifted backwards before coming back to the glass window. "Well, psychometry for one."

Serena's eyebrows raised slightly. "The ability to see an object or a person's past, present, and future, through a single touch. What kind of reading did you get when you touched my hand earlier?"

Abe briefly wondered if it had been wise to tell her of his ability. He brushed the thought aside and answered her question. "I merely wanted to see if you were being truthful and if you knew anymore information than you were telling us."

Slowly, she nodded. She could understand that they didn't exactly trust her. She certainly wouldn't have trusted a stranger if they appeared at her door asking for help. At least now they had been assured she was, in fact, sincere.

For a few minutes they were both silent. Serena looked up from her thoughts and saw that Abe was still floating near the glass. His attention wasn't on her though. "Turn the pages, please," he requested, looking up from the four books in front of his tank.

"All four of them," asked Serena.

"Yes, please." He confirmed so she lazily waved her hand in the direction of the books. The four pages turned slowly and Abe continued to read after he thanked her.

Getting up from the comfy chair, Serena returned to the bookshelves and began to browse them once again. She came across Homer's _Odyssey_ which she brought back to the chair. She had always wanted to read it but never seemed to find the time.

As she settled down and opened the book, Abe made another bizarre request. "Egg, please."

For a moment Serena could only blink at him. "Egg?"

He gestured to the covered dish of what looked like rotten eggs. "Egg, please," he repeated.

Thanking all he lucky stars, individually and by name, for her telekinesis, Serena used her mind to lift the cover of the dish. A single green egg lifted from the dish and floated over to the tube. The second it entered the tube it shot up and out of sight, only to reappear again in Abe's tank.

The merman did a loop-the-loop in the water, catching the egg in his mouth. With a smile, Serena clapped lightly. "You put Shamoo to shame," she joked.

Chuckling softly, Abe said, "I try." His gaze returned to the four books and he began reading again. Serena took his lead.

Every so often, Abe would politely ask her to turn the pages. Without looking up from her book, Serena would comply. Abe would thank her and then they'd fall into silence again. It was quite relaxing and Serena was grateful that her mind was no longer dwelling on her missing friends.

"There you are," Myers breathed with relief when he walked into the library and saw Serena curled up on a chair with a thick book. "I've been looking for you."

"I'm sorry," Serena said, getting up and putting the book down. "I should have stayed in my room."

The mention of Serena's room made him remember when he poked his head in, five minutes prior. He was stunned to find that it had been redecorated. The shock was quickly replaced by panic when he realized Serena was gone. Myers had prayed that she hadn't left the building.

"How did change your room," he asked, forgetting the reason why he had searched for her.

"I'm sorry." Serena briefly marveled at how many times in the past hour she had apologized. "I can go change it back if you want."

"No, no," Myers said quickly. "It was just a shock to see it." He remembered what Manning had told him and inwardly grimaced. "Ms. Williams I-"

"Please, call me Serena," she interrupted.

Nodding, Myers continued. "Serena, I spoke with the director of the agency, Tom Manning, and he said that we can't start investigating until the doctors here have run a few quick tests on you."

Serena stiffened slightly. When she was young and living at the haven, her friend Martina had told her stories of tests that had been run on her. They had poked and prodded the young girl and forced her to use her powers. When Serena was younger she often had nightmares of men in white coats performing the same painful tests on her. She didn't like where Myers was going with this proposition.

"What kind of tests," she asked warily.

"The doctors will just draw some blood and probably ask for a demonstration of your powers." Myers's voice was kind as he spoke and Serena reluctantly trusted him. If anything, she would go through with the 'tests' for the sake of her friends.

"Alright," she said with a sigh. "Let's get this over with."

Myers began to lead Serena out of the library and she gave one last halfhearted smile to Abe. As the large doors to the library closed behind her, Serena turned the pages of Abe's books one last time.

Before Myers had a chance to get through the doors, Abe had skimmed the surface of the young agent's mind. He immediately picked up on his conversation with Manning and he was surprised to find that Serena's friends weren't the only psychics that had gone missing in the last two months. Abe floated gracefully around his tank as he pondered this new revelation, and wondered how the B.P.R.D. hadn't picked up on something so important.

* * *

"Professor Druce!" A slightly raspy, woman's voice echoed through the cavernous room as she sauntered down the center isle. A muscular bald man walked alongside her, his large strides easily keeping pace with her quick purposeful gait. "How many more do we need?" she demanded, coming to stand in front of another man.

The man, Professor Druce, was thin and tall, with short graying hair. The spectacles that perched on the bridge of his nose and covered his eyes, reflected light and barred everyone's view of the cold eyes below. If possible the eerie reflection of light made his level gaze seem even colder and more piercing than it was.

"We have all the sacrifices we need," he said, his voice low and emotionless.

The woman's dark eyes gleamed with barely suppressed excitement. "Then we can begin the ritual." She turned to leave, the muscular ready to go with her.

"Danessa." At the sound of Druce's voice, she turned back to him. "I acquired more information from the psychic woman, before her mind gave out completely."

Danessa's dark eyes narrowed as she stepped closer to him, her hands on her hips. "And," she questioned expectantly.

"It appears as though our texts had been misinterpreted," he said slowly, irritating the woman further. "The creature can posses anyone but it can only sustain life in the body of a psychic. If it were to manifest in a non-psychic host, the strain would be great for that body and it would inevitably be destroyed."

Again, Danessa took a step closer, peering at the man. "What are you saying?"

"You cannot be the host." This simple statement earned a loud shout of anger from the woman.

"You better make this work," she yelled at the sadistic occult expert before turning and storming off. The large muscular man stood still, glaring at Druce who returned the gaze levelly. "Raghnall," shouted Danessa over her shoulder. "Come on!"

Turning away from the smaller man, Raghnall followed Danessa out of the room. Turning away from the pair, Druce turned his expressionless gaze back to the two even lines of water-filled tubes that lined the center isle of the room. The tubes all had the same strange marking on the glass, in blood.

There were two dozen of these tubes, and in each one floated an unconscious man or woman. They all had a strange device around their head which kept their psychic powers in check. Inwardly, Druce wished he could use his tools of torture on these people. He long for it, but he knew he couldn't. Besides, Danessa had promised him an ample supply of 'patients' once his work for her was complete.


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: **Okay. Special thanks to anyone who has reviewed. You're all wonderful, thank you so much for letting me know what you think about this story. To anyone who hasn't reviewed; I'll love you forever if you do! Oh, and Jett, you're perv. Hahaha!

Enjoy! Please, R&R!

* * *

_**As the World Falls Down**_

_**Chapter Three**_

The room was like any typical hospital room. Everything seemed to be metal and impossibly clean and shiny. It had that eerie, overwhelmingly sterile smell and the chair she was sitting in-- much like a dentist's chair-- was highly uncomfortable. The chill of the cold metal room seeped through the paper-thin gown they had given her and Serena rued the day the damn hospital gowns were created.

"Alright, Miss Williams," said a male doctor, approaching her with a clipboard. "I'm Dr. Frinkle. I'm going to ask you a few simple questions while my assistants do the basics. Then, we'd like to draw some blood and run tests on it and we'll take it from there."

Serena remained silent, watching the doctor's every move. He scribbled things down on his clipboard as she answered the many questions he asked her about her life. Was she born with telekinesis? Yes? Had she always been able to control it? No. Did it take long to learn? Yes. Were either of her parents psychic? No. Was anyone in her family physic? Not that she knew of. The questions just went on and on.

As she answered a dizzying amount of questions for the doctor, his two assistants took her blood pressure and listened to her heart. They would call things out to Dr. Frinkle who would write it down on his clipboard while still managing to ask Serena questions.

"Hold out your arm, please," asked the female assistant.

Reluctantly, Serena complied. The woman flicked at her vein until it was prominent enough for her to stick the needle in. Apparently having her vein swell up like a balloon wasn't enough, because the woman had to wiggle the needle around. Serena's jaw clenched from the pain as the needle popped out and the woman asked for her other arm.

By some miracle, she managed to get the new needle in properly on the first try. Serena watched her blood go up the thin tube and into the small vial while still answering questions from the doctor. When each vial was full, it'd be passed to the male assistant who would cap and label it and then place it in a rack.

Six vials and what seemed like six million questions later, a small band-aid was placed over Serena's vein and the doctor finished his grilling. The male assistant scurried out of the room with the rack of Serena's blood samples.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it," asked the doctor with a smile. Serena wanted to tie him down and ask him a million questions while drawing six vials of _his_ blood. Then he'd know how bad it was.

When she didn't respond, his smile fell and he continued in a business-like manner. "Now, if you'd sit back, Mary will hook you up to a few machines." Once again, Serena found herself complying reluctantly. The only thing keeping her from jumping off the chair and leaving was the thought of her friends.

Mary, as the doctor had called the female assistant, began to hook Serena up to a machine. The little suction cups were placed on various parts of her head. "This will give us a reading of what goes on in your head," the doctor explained.

Mary wrapped something around one of Serena's elbows, causing her to wince as it irritated her rapidly growing bruise from the blood samples. "And that will keep us up to date on your blood pressure."

"I suppose you want me to do something with my telekinesis?" She sounded bored as she turned to look at the doctor.

"That's right," he said in a chipper voice that grated on Serena's nerves. "Anything at all."

Staring at the pen which rested in the front pocket of his lab coat, Serena willed it to move. The pen lifted up and began to float lazily around the room. At the same time the machine she was hooked up to whizzed and whirred, printing out sheets of information.

"Anything else you can do," asked the doctor, excitedly.

With a sigh, Serena touched the chair she sat on it changed from shiny metal with black "cushions" to a metallic red with green cushions. "I can move, shape, and change objects," explained Serena.

"Let's test your limits," the doctor said happily.

She groaned inwardly and contemplated just how long she was going to be stuck there.

An hour and a half later, Serena was wandering the halls of the B.P.R.D. Twin bruises were forming on the insides of her elbows where the incompetent nurse had attempted to skewer her with the needles. Serena grumbled under her breath about the doctor and his constant pushing for her to use her powers.

Before Serena left he had said, "There now. Wasn't that quick and painless?" She had great difficulty resisting the urge to lunge at him. With that one question he had earned her eternal hatred.

She was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and her stomach was making loud protests. It had been a full ten minutes since she had left the hospital wing and the clutches of the evil doctor and she had yet to find food or someone to point her in the right direction. So, it was with great relief that she finally stumbled across the library once again.

"How was the testing," Abe asked, appearing at the window of his tank once again.

Holding out her arms, she showed him the twin bruises. "Quick and painless," she said dryly.

"Yes, I seem to recall Dr. Frinkle saying something similar to me as well," he said sympathetically. "Though I don't think I came out battered."

"The nurse didn't know how to draw blood," Serena explained sourly. "I might as well have gnawed my arm off and handed it over." She sighed.

"Did they find what they were looking for," asked Abe after Serena had turned the pages of his books for him. "Thank you."

"I'm not sure what they were looking." Serena took a seat in the same chair she had occupied before. "The gallon of blood they took showed that I am in fact human, disease-less, and physically normal. As far as I know, the read outs on the machines showed that my brainwaves are slightly less than normal-- big surprise there-- and they're the only things that change when I use my abilities. He babbled a lot about stuff I didn't understand. Something like, when I use telekinesis, my brainwaves look similar to that of a sleeping person."

"And what do you think about that," asked Abe, floating near the glass.

Serena shrugged. "Who cares what my brainwaves look like? I can move things with my mind and that's that." Her stomach gave a loud grumble and she gave a sheepish smile. "And apparently I'm very hungry."

"I'll show you to the kitchens," Abe said before disappearing from sight.

A moment later he reappeared, descending a small metal staircase beside his tank. The top of the stairs ended in a small platform and Serena noted a door that led to what she assumed was Abe's quarters.

Abe was once again wearing nothing but a pair of black skin-tight shorts. "Shall we?" He held the door to the library open for her and with a grateful smile she exited.

As he led her down the halls, Serena tried in vain to memorize the way. All the halls and doors looked exactly the same. Shiny and metal. There was a slight chill in the air and Serena turned to Abe.

"Don't you ever get cold in here?" She wondered whether he was warm or cold blooded.

His dark eyes turned to her. "Always," he answered, simply. Serena decided that he was most likely cold blooded.

Abe pushed the swinging door open and Serena was relieved to find that the kitchen was not completely decorated with metal. The counters were marble, the cabinets finished wood, and the floor was white tile. There were even a few potted plants on the counters and in the middle of the butcher block table. The only metal in the room was that of the appliances.

"This area is strictly for agents," Abe explained as she looked around the homey room. "Anyone else has to eat in the cafeteria."

Her eyes fell upon the two people occupying two of the chairs at the table. One was Myers and the other was a young woman, her age, whom she didn't recognize. As soon as he caught sight of Serena, Myers got to his feet.

"Serena," he said, awkwardly. "Done with the testing already?" At Serena's visible grimace he quickly turned to the young woman with black hair. "Um.. I'd like you to meet Liz Sherman, she's part of the team. Liz, this is Serena Williams, the psychic I told you about.

"Nice to meet you," Liz said quietly, as the two women shook hands.

Serena smiled. "Nice to meet you, too." She and Abe both took the remaining seats. "So, you're part of the team?"

"Yeah," Liz's voice was still quiet and as she spoke, her tired, almost haunted eyes looked down at the table. "I do what I can to help."

"Liz is a fire-starter," Myers put in helpfully. Or so he thought. His comment earned him a slightly dark look from Liz.

"Fire-starter?" repeated Serena. "You mean a pyrokinetic?"

"I guess that's the technical term," she said.

Serena smiled softly. "I had a friend who was a pyrokinetic." Her smile faltered slightly as she remembered that Martina was missing, along with all her other friends.

"Did she have trouble controlling her power," asked Liz.

For a moment Serena thought about how to answer that. "She did at first but all psychics have trouble in the beginning, especially those of us with psychokinetic abilities. But when she was eight, our mentor started to teach her, now she has no problems with it."

Liz seemed to become thoughtful at Serena's declaration. Only half interested, she asked, "So, what exactly do you do?"

"I'm telekinetic," replied Serena with a nod. For a small demonstration, she turned to the fruit basket that sat on the table. Three apples rose into the air and began to turn in circles around each other.

Two of the apples fell back into the basket and Serena held her hand open for the third. The red fruit landed perfectly in the middle of her upturned palm. She took a bite and turned it so the other could see what was under the skin.

"It's an orange," declared Myers while he, Liz, and Abe applauded lightly.

Serena smiled. "I prefer orpple."

"You put David Copperfield to shame," Abe said with as much of a smile as he could give with his limited facial movement.

"Thanks, Shamoo," Serena grinned back at him. Myers and Liz looked at them confused but neither was about to explain. "So, what's there to eat?" Her question quickly changed the topic as Myers jumped to find something for the young woman to eat.

And once again, Serena was happily distracted from the pressing matter at hand.


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: **I'm starting to get used to the fact that no one reviews. I supposed I should threaten you with not updating if you don't review or something. Oh well, whatever. You're all just mean, mean, mean people.

Um…. Just kidding? You're all wonderful, terrific, super, lovely, amazing, magnificent, awesome, incredible, marvelous, people. Even if you don't review (hint, hint!).

Enjoy the oddly short chapter. I don't know why they're all so short lately… usually one of my chapters is like six pages on Microsoft. Whatever. Enjoy!

* * *

_**As the World Falls Down**_

_**Chapter Four**_

"That was excellent," Serena said, pushing her plate away and leaning back. For the first time in two days she had finally eaten and it felt wonderful to be full. "Thank you for the sandwich." She smiled at Myers.

"Anytime," he replied, returning the smile.

A yawn escaped Serena's mouth and she quickly raised a hand to cover it. "Sorry," she said. "I think all the 'demonstrating' I've done has worn me out."

"You haven't slept since yesterday." Abe added this tidbit of information he had picked up when he had read her earlier. "You should rest."

Slowly and ruefully, Serena shook her head. "I couldn't sleep if I had a tranquilizer. Besides, I've been working nights too long, I need to get back into a normal sleep cycle. The best way to do that is to wait until tonight before I try sleeping again."

The other two seemed to understand this logic. "Well, Serena," Myers said after a moment. "It's only noon and we can't start investigating until Manning gets all the paperwork through which will take at least another hour. Would you like to go on a tour in the meantime?"

Serena shrugged. "Sure."

After she had convinced Myers to let her wash and put away her own dirty plate, Serena followed him off down a hall. Abe parted to go back to his tank, saying that his skin-- _So it was skin after all._-- was beginning to dry out. Liz had left the kitchen long ago to find Hellboy, so it was just Serena and Myers. As they walked along, Myers told her all about the B.P.R.D., giving her a speech very similar to the one that the late Professor Broom had given him.

* * *

"Have you fixed the problem yet," asked an impatient Danessa as she, once again, was talking to Professor Druce. 

"I have," answered the emotionless man. "It took a bit of prodding but I finally got into the woman's mind." As he spoke he put down the long needle-like tool he had used to probe the psychic's mind. "Apparently your scholars were far off track."

Danessa waved her hand dismissively. "They're all dead, so what difference does it make?" She gave a loving glance to Ragnhall who stood faithfully beside her. "Tell me what you found," she demanded of the professor.

"Once the creature is summoned and is inside its host, it will be under the command of whomever brought it back from its exile. The 'Bringer'." He paused and his glasses flashed. "The woman had texts back at the island. They explained the proper rituals in detail. Quite fascinating," he said, his voice as detached as ever.

Turning to Ragnhall, Danessa ran a finger down her bodyguard's brawny chest. "So, all I have to do is say a few words and the beast is mine? How perfect. It will work out far better this way."

Druce chose to omit the fact that some of Danessa's blood would be required. Instead he decided to bring up a more important issue. "We still require the host."

For a moment Danessa thought. She walked around the professor and came to stand beside a metal slab which he used as an operating table. An older woman lay on it, her eyes unfocused. Blood trickled slowly down the side of her face from under the device that kept her in a catatonic state. "Didn't we miss one?" Danessa asked, still looking at the psychic on the table. "A telekinetic or something?"

"Yes," replied Druce. "A female telekinetic. Shall I send the harnines?"

With a dark look, Danessa turned to Druce. "Do whatever it takes," she ordered. "I want that girl and I want her as soon as possible."

Danessa left with Ragnhall and the professor turned his impassive gaze to the psychic on his operating table. He didn't have any need to probe her mind any further, so he called for an assistant to move her back into her tube of water.

While that was being done, the statuesque man turned to a large book that he kept on hand in his lab. Picking it up, he turned to a page somewhere in the middle and grabbed a handful of powder from a ceramic jar, bringing both to a line of six stone statues of hideous winged dogs.

Professor Druce read out loud from the book. He tossed the handful of red powder onto the statues and almost at once, the stone came alive. The six bird-dogs snarled viscously.

"Find the telekinetic," ordered Druce and immediately the stone creatures took flight, shrieking as they flew out one of the large windows of the lab, disappearing in the cloudy sky.


	6. Chapter Five

**A/N: **Here's a much longer chapter for anyone who is actually reading and enjoying this. Apparently that's not a whole lot of people because I have over 200 hits and only eight reviews. Come on people, please review? I don't care if you say this story is pure dog mess, anything is better than nothing… or is no news good news?

Whatever, here's another chapter for you. Enjoy. : )

* * *

_**As the World Falls Down**_

_**Chapter Five**_

Liz sat alone in her bedroom. Her hand was engulfed in blue flame and she sat, staring at it thoughtfully. It was true that she had some sort of control over her ability but she knew she could easily lose it. She had spent hours on end each day, trying to train herself, trying to learn how to keep the fire tame, but it still wasn't enough. What if she lost control and hurt someone again? She still carried the scars from her childhood, and she knew if anything happened again, she wouldn't be able to live with herself, knowing that she had taken yet another innocent life.

There was hope for her, she mused, staring at the flame that gently tickled her fingers. Serena had said that there was a haven for psychics, a place where they were trained and taught how to control their abilities. Perhaps Liz could go there. She would have to ask Serena about it.

Then again, if she did leave again, she didn't know how Hellboy would take it. He wasn't happy the last time she left the B.P.R.D. and she knew he'd be less than pleased if she left again.

She sighed heavily. What was a girl to do?

"Hey," came the familiar gruff voice of Hellboy as he opened her door, uninvited, as usual.

Quickly, Liz closed her hand and extinguished the flames. "Hey," she replied quietly as he crossed her room.

"We're heading out," he said. "We have to go see Serena's friend's apartment. You comin'?"

For a moment Liz thought about saying no, but decided to tag along anyway. What could happen? Besides, she needed to talk to Serena. "Sure. Let me get my coat."

* * *

It was a good three hours after Myers had given her the tour of the B.P.R.D headquarters and Serena was more than confident she could find her way around without getting lost. She was also rather bored. 

Despite having said it would take one hour to get all the paperwork done, Manning had taken three. Serena has returned to the library after the tour and continued reading _The Odyssey_. To her relief she had even dozed off for a short, forty-five minute napand was slightly more energized when she awoke.

Abe hadn't been up for too much chit chat and had sat quietly in his tank, reading his books. Like before, Serena would lazily turn the pages whenever he needed it.

To her surprise, Abe had climbed out of his tank and appeared in front of her in a tight black top to match his black shorts. He also had a strange device around his neck, which he had told her was a specially designed respirator that provided water to his gills. As he appeared, Hellboy, Liz, and Myers all entered the library, ready to go.

The group had moved outside, into the cool autumn dusk, where a garbage truck and a black SUV were waiting, each with its own driver. While Abe and Hellboy climbed into the back of the truck, the others piled into the SUV and they were off.

It took less than forty-five minutes to get into New York City from Newark, and find Dulcie's apartment building, and that was with a quick stop at Serena' place so she could pick up some clothes and toiletries. The garbage truck backed into the large alleyway between Dulcie's building and the one next to it while the SUV went down a block to a parking garage.

"This the place," asked Hellboy, nodding to the door of apartment 5C, as he and Abe joined the others in the hallway.

"Yeah," said Serena as she stood on her tiptoes and began to feel along the doorframe for the spare key. "Damn it. The key's gone."

Hellboy seemed more than happy to volunteer to open the door. "Stand back," he said as he positioned himself in front of the door, ready to kick it in.

"Wait," cried Serena, stopping him. "Let's not make it obvious we're here." She turned to the door again and there was a soft _click!_ as the door unlocked and the knob turned, seemingly on its own.

The group filed in, Hellboy taking the lead 'just in case' as Myers had whispered to Serena. The apartment seemed normal enough but Serena still peered around, looking for the slightest thing to be out of place.

"There are spirits here," Abe said, looking about through his goggles.

Serena slowly nodded. "Dulcie was a channeler, she communicated with them. They won't hurt us."

"I hate ghosts," muttered Hellboy, glaring at thin air.

As the words left his mouth, a book flew off a shelf and whacked his head. Recovering from the assault, he glared around again, rubbing his head. "I thought you said they wouldn't hurt us," he said accusingly to Serena.

Shrugging she replied. "They're not killing us, are they?"

The team fanned out across the apartment, searching for any clues. Serena stepped into the bedroom and bit her lip. The windows had both been shattered and shards of glass littered the carpet. The curtains fluttered freely but Serena didn't notice. Her attention was on the closet door.

It had been splintered and cracked, hanging on one hinge. Some of Dulcie's clothes had been ripped from their hangers and lay on the floor. Amongst them, Serena could see the phone, broken and crushed. She bit her lip and tried to keep her emotions in check, for the sake of herself and the others.

"I think I found something," she called, causing the others to rush in. She turned to Abe. "Can you get a reading from anything in here?"

Pulling off one black glove, Abe slowly and gently laid a webbed hand on closet door. Two seconds later, he pulled his hand away, blinking his black eyes and turning towards the group.

"She was alive when she left this room," he said, reassuring Serena who let out a breath she had been holding. "There were six stone creatures. The spirits tried to help but the creatures were quite powerful."

"What'd they look like?" Hellboy was lighting another cigar as he asked the question.

There was a screech from outside and they all turned in time to see a large, stone dog fly in, knocking any remaining glass from the already broken window. Five more followed the first and they stared at the group hungrily and snarling.

"Oh," said Hellboy before pulling his Samaritan gun from its holster. The bullet hit the first stone beast directly in the head, chipping it, but not stopping it. Hellboy sighed with annoyance. "You've got to be kidding me."

The six creatures lunged all at once, going in different directions. Hellboy grabbed one as it was inches from his face and threw it back out the window. Simultaneously, he wrapped his tail around one the that had gone for Liz whose hands were now flaming.

Myers pulled his gun and fired a round into one of the beasts. It jumped for his face and he ducked just in time to avoid having his head bitten off. He got back to his feet and reloaded his gun, continuing to pump the beast full of lead.

As Abe gracefully dodged his attacker, he managed to slide his bare hand across the rough surface of the creature. The instant reading told him exactly what he needed to know. "There is a foundation stone on their undersides," he called to the others. "I would recommend trying to destroy it."

Two of the monsters attacked Serena at once who didn't have time to stop and think about an offensive maneuver. Instead she threw her hands out in front of her, palms forward and fingers spread. The two winged dogs were frozen in midair. When she moved her hands apart, one of the stone creatures each moved along with a hand. At an alarming rate, they flew towards each other, smashing together as Serena brought her hands together in a clap.

Hellboy was in the middle of dragging a creature that had gone after Liz by its wings. "Bad dog," he yelled as he threw it into the air and used his stone hand to punch its foundation stone.

The stone bird-dog crumbled and turned to red dust at Hellboy's feet. He turned just as the first one he'd thrown was flying at his head again. His stone arm went up in defense but the beast went into a dead stop, frozen in air. It turned so its belly was exposed and he shot it with his gun. Once it had turned to red dust he looked over and saw Serena turning her attention back to the two stone brutes that were circling her.

It lunged again but Abe was ready. He waited until the creature was too close for comfort, before he skillfully evaded it again. This time, he grabbed one of the small explosives from a pouch on his belt. He had a mere few seconds to plant and set the explosive but that's all he needed.

It landed on the ground a few feet from him and the small device exploded. Bits of rocks flew about the room but they all seemed to stop and fall to the ground before they could actually hit anyone. Abe silently thanks Serena.

Deftly, Myers reloaded his gun again and took aim. Before he could shoot, the stone dog-bird turned away from him and joined two others in attacking Serena. They surrounded her and he moved forward, ready to help.

The three remaining living-statues circled Serena. She had managed to keep two of them at bay while keeping an eye on,- and helping the others but the strain was beginning to show. A sweat broken out on her forehead and she knew that she didn't have the energy to keep doing this. She had barely slept in the last two weeks, and in the past twenty-four hours she had been using all her energy without sleeping enough to regenerate.

_Abe_, she thought urgently, catching the merman's attention immediately. _Get everyone out of here. Now!_

Doing as he was asked, Abe sent out a quick mental message to the others. He knew what Serena was planning and it would be dangerous if anyone was still in the room when she executed her plan.

Both Liz and Myers seemed to hesitate about leaving Serena alone with the creatures but didn't have to be told twice. Once they were gone, Serena knew she didn't have to worry anymore.

It hadn't even been a full ten seconds before the three creatures attacked at once. Drawing a breath, Serena focused her energy, pulling it to the center of her being. It was a trick that Sophie, her old mentor, had taught her. She had always been told never to use it unless she absolutely needed to.

Once all of her energy was gathered in a tight ball, she let it out. The psychic energy exploded outwards from Serena, catching everything in its path. The force was like a supernova of psychic energy and nothing could escape its reach. The three stone-birds were destroyed, instantly turning to red dust which, like all the furniture in the room, was blown away to the walls where the explosion of energy ended.

In the kitchen of the small apartment, Myers had just opened his mouth to ask if it was wise to leave Serena alone. He didn't get the chance because they heard what sounded like an atom bomb being dropped. The apartment shook, rattling the dishes inside the cabinets. Then all was silent again.

"What was that," asked Myers, dumbfounded.

Abe was the first to move back towards the bedroom. The others followed behind and they burst into the room to find the bed and vanity, the nightstand and lamp, and the chair all destroyed and mangled, pushed against the blue walls. Red dust coated the edges of the room, tainting the white carpet.

"Are you alright," Liz asked Serena as they all rushed to the young woman's side.

She was leaning against one of the walls, slumped over. Her hands rested on her knees and her breathing was ragged and uneven. "I'm fine," she croaked, looking up at them. Her voice quaked and her hands shook as she reach up and brushed a strand of black hair away from her paled, sweaty face. "I actually feel a little better," she joked weakly. "Got out some frustration."

Liz grabbed Serena's elbow and helped steady her. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," breathed Serena. "I'll be alright. I just need to rest."

Myers took a step forward to help but hesitated and decided not to, not really knowing what to do. "What was that," he asked at last.

"Force push, is what Sophie used to call it." Serena carefully made her way out of the bedroom with the others following. Her shaking hands gripped anything they could find to help keep her steady. "Basically it's a back up plan. If I'm absolutely desperate, I draw all my energy together and let it all out at once."

"That's useful," Myers said, holding the apartment door open for her. "Why is it only a backup plan?"

Too tired to keep explaining, Serena glanced at Abe. Picking up, the merman explained for her. "If she's not careful, she could easily die. The force push also uses life energy. A small one like that, isn't quite deadly but a large one could kill her."

Serena barely managed to give the fish-man a grateful smile. "Sophie once told me she knew a telekinetic who used it unnecessarily. He was in a coma for three years."

Once Myers and Liz had gotten Serena into the SUV, Myers jumped into the front seat next to the driver. Liz sat in the back with Serena who wearily looked out the window. It had been obvious that those stone beasts, wherever they had come from, were after her. So, finding out who sent them would lead to finding her friends.

Before her heavy eyelids closed and Serena dozed off into a long awaited and much needed sleep, she hoped that Abe had gotten a good reading off the creatures.

* * *

**A/N:** Phew. I'm so much more at home with longer chapters. Hope you liked it. Please, review if you did. Hell, review if you didn't! Thankies. 


	7. Chapter Six

**A/N: **Special thanks to Carolyn and Lum for reviewing and giving great support/advice.

I think somewhere in the back of my mind I knew she was a tennis player but I didn't actually think about it until you mentioned it. I wanted to use the name Serena and I picked Williams because I thought it sounded pretty good. At least now I know why it sounded so good. Hehe. : )

I was thinking of pairing her up with Abe but I'm still not sure if I want them to go further than just friends. Perhaps in a sequel? Gasp! Dun dun dun! It would probably be a century from now before I could come up with a half decent plot for a sequel. Thanks for the advice! I'll keep that in mind. ; )

Now, enjoy what I think is the longest chapter I've written (for this story) so far. Grr! For some reason the little bar things won't work! Curses!

**0-0-0-0**

_**As the World Falls Down**_

_**Chapter Six**_

"What the hell were those things," asked Hellboy as the team, plus Serena sat in the library. They all had seats in overstuffed chairs, save Abe who was perusing a book he had taken off one of the many bookshelves

"I believe," he said without looking up from the book, "they were harnines. A strange combination of harpies and canines which remain dormant as statues until someone awakens them. They are then under the command of that person."

"What were they after," asked Myers looking puzzled, his brow furrowed.

"Me." Until then, Serena had been quiet. Her legs were pulled up to her chest so she had curled up on the chair. Her head rested against the wingback and her eyes were closed. Lifting her head up slightly, she looked around at the assembled group with weariness. "They were after me."

Before Myers could ask her to explain, Abe cut in. "She's right. The harnines were there to take Serena back to their master."

"Do we know who that is," asked Hellboy, rolling his cigar between his fingers.

Abe slid the book back onto the shelf he had gotten it from and joined the circle the rest of the group had made. "The reading I got from the harnine was short but I did see a face. Nothing more, nothing less."

"So, no idea why the kidnapper is doing this," stated Liz, quietly. This earned a nod from Abe.

"Our one lead and it's a dead end." Myers sighed and sat back in his chair. "Now what?"

"We run his mug and see if our database turns up with anything." Hellboy got up from his chair. "And I'm gonna hit the sack."

"Red is right," added Abe, sensing Myers' doubt. "There really isn't much else we can do tonight."

The group dispersed, each person retiring to their own room for the night. However, not all of them slept. Liz went through the motions; change, brush her teeth, climb into bed, lay there. It was like this most nights. She would lay in her bed, listening to the noises of the B.P.R.D. headquarters and wondering about the occasional muffled echoes that she heard whenever someone walked by her door in the hallway during midnight hour.

She wouldn't admit to anyone, but she was afraid to sleep; afraid that she would lose control in her dreams again and burn down the entire building, killing everyone. Like she had before. So, Liz would go through the motions like all the others but it was always in the wee hours that she did finally fall into a light, dreamless sleep.

Tonight, however, Liz's mind strayed to the telekinetic that was sleeping just a few halls away. All day Liz had been thinking about whether or not she should ask Serena about the haven. Would they accept her or was she too old? Hadn't Serena said most of the people had been there since childhood? If they did let her go, would she be able to leave Hellboy again?

The thought caused Liz's heart to twist painfully. After all they had been through, she really couldn't stand to leave him again. On the other hand, though, she couldn't keep living on so little sleep, always afraid of killing her friends.

With a heavy sigh, Liz threw the blankets off and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Unable to bear laying and thinking, she decided to get a glass of water.

**0-0-0-0**

_"Catch me if you can, Serena!" A tall girl of about ten stood at the top of the long stone stairs. Her long, straight, brown hair was wind blown and her dark brown eyes looked teasingly down at the shorter girl who scrambled up the uneven steps, trying to reach her._

_"I'll get you this time, Joy" Serena yelled back, as she neared the top of the steps were the path veered off to the right and led up a small hill. She was only nine and her hair was still pin-straight at her prepubescent age. Her bright green eyes danced merrily in the afternoon sunlight. "You can't run forever!"_

_"Yes I can!" The ferns and other lush green plants that grew along the stairs and path rustled in the breeze as Joy astral projected. Her body seemed to be in two places at once, and before Serena's hand could tag her leg, the part of Joy that had been standing atop the stairs was further up the path._

_"Hey!" Serena pouted slightly. "No powers! That's not--" her sentence was cut off, turning into a strangled cry. Her green eyes widened in terror and her mouth made a perfect "O" as her foot slipped on the smooth stone step. She flailed her arms for a moment, trying to regain her balance, but failed. _

_Down she tumbled, further and further. Her frail body bounced off the steps as she fell, head-over-heels, backwards. Serena's mind had temporarily gone blank and she couldn't feel the pain._

_With an "Oof!" she landed on the dusty ground at the foot of the steps, rolling slightly. For a moment the wind was knocked out of her and she panicked, trying to regain her breath while the pain exploded all over her body. She could barely move and she was more afraid than she had ever been in her short life. What if she was paralyzed!_

_Taking a weak, shuddering breath, she began to sob. She was completely unaware of what was going on around her. Serena couldn't hear Joy calling her name, or the panic of one of the older kids as the entire island began to shake and rumble. All she knew was that she was hurt and she was scared._

_"Serena." The voice was soft, calm, and soothing. "You're not paralyzed, child."_

_Opening her eyes, Serena could see Sophie kneeling beside her. The small child managed to put her arms around the older woman's neck, crying on her shoulder. "I-it huuurts!" she sobbed._

_"I know," soothed Sophie. "It never tickles when you take a tumble." She stroked Serena's hair. "Now, stop crying. Do you remember what I told you about controlling your emotions?"_

_"Uh-huh." Serena's voice was still shaky but she had stopped sobbing. Tears still ran down her cheeks._

_Looking over the small child's head, Sophie observed the island. Everything had stopped shaking but the damage had been done. Serena had completely destroyed the stone steps. They were crumbled and worn, as though they had been there for centuries more than they actually had been. The most disturbing part was the large, gaping crack that jaggedly split the steps in half, ending a mere inches from where Serena had landed._

_Clearly the child was powerful. Powerful and dangerous to others as well as herself. Sophie was relieved that she had started training Serena before her powers could develop any further. Now, she'd be able to teach the child to hold back. If she were to develop further without a guide, and without knowing how to control her abilities… Sophie had to suppress a shudder at the thought._

_"Look around you, child," Sophie said quietly. "And see why you must always keep your feelings in check."_

_Turning away from Sophie and letting go of her neck, Serena stood up. For a moment she was shocked to see that she was grown-up. Looking up from her longer legs, Serena gasped and stepped back. _

_She was in a stone dungeon. Her friends --Martina, Dulcie, Joy, Sybil, Morissa-- all of them were tied to tables or chained to the walls. They were all crying out in pain, their tears mixing with the blood that leaked out from multimple open wounds. Faceless men stood around them, poking them with hot irons, cutting them open, torturing them in any way possible. _

_"Help!" Her friends cried out to her in an eerier chorus. "Help us, Serena! We'll die!"_

_Horrified, Serena tried to move forward to help them. If she could get to the faceless men, she could stop them from hurting the others. She couldn't move. Her feet were stuck to the ground and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move from the spot._

_Pooling her psychic energy, Serena prepared to use her abilities against the faceless men who had yet to notice her. She waved her hand at one who was bringing a sledge hammer down on Martina's legs. Nothing happened. Serena tried again. Still, nothing. She was completely harmless. Her friends were slowly dying and she couldn't lift a finger to help them._

_She opened her mouth to scream, "NO!" but no sound came out. She was completely mute. Tears streamed down her face again as she was forced to watch._

_Then, the blood of her friends seemed flowed like rivers, pooling together in the center of the dungeon. Out of the blood arose a dragon with eyes as pitch as black. The body of it was so long that it had to bend almost in half to fit into the high-ceilinged chamber. It's black eyes stared her down while she looked on with an intense fear, unlike anything she had ever felt before._

_Serena could hear its voice in her head. It was a low, loud, inhuman growling sound. She couldn't make out the words but it almost sounded like it was taunting her._

_The creature opened its great mouth, showing sharp, yellowed teeth. With a deafening roar, it lunged forward, and snapped its jaws shut around her._

Gasping, Serena awoke with a jolt. Her entire body was covered in a cold sweat that had seeped into her sheet as well. She tried to calm her breathing as her chest heaved with the ragged breathes she was taking.

Looking around her darkened room she saw that all the furniture was floating. With a shuddering breathe, she closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down. When her eyes opened again, everything had stopped levitating and the furniture was back where it should have been.

Unable to stay there any longer, Serena quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her. For awhile she wandered the halls aimlessly, trying to decide where to go. After five minutes she headed to the kitchen for a drink.

When she pushed the door open, Serena was surprised to find Liz sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of water. The slightly younger woman looked up from her glass, startled out of deep thought.

"Sorry." Serena gave a sheepish smile and was thankful that her jangled nerves had calmed themselves since she awoke. "I couldn't sleep so I came to get some water." As she spoke she retrieved a glass and filled it at the sink.

Liz nodded slightly before turning her attention back to her own glass. "Same here," she said quietly as Serena took the seat opposite her.

This time it was Serena's turn to nod slightly. She figured there was more to it but she didn't want to push Liz into telling her, so she let the matter drop. They sat in silence for awhile, each woman lost in her own thoughts.

Finally, Liz broke the silence. "Serena?"

"Hmm?" Serena looked up from the wall she had been staring at

Liz seemed to hesitate, not knowing how to ask her question. "You know that haven you told us about?" Serena nodded and Liz continued. "I was wondering… do-- do you think they would be able to help me?"

For a moment Serena looked at her blankly, trying to piece this together. What did she mean? Help her with what? "Help you?" Serena finally asked, confused.

Suppressing a sigh, Liz explained. She hated having to talk aloud about her 'control issues.' "I can control it," she said quietly. "To an extent… it's when I get mad that I lose control. And sometimes…. Sometimes if I have nightmare…" Liz's voice got quieter and quieter until she had trailed off.

Serena understood. She, herself had just had a nightmare and woke up to find her furniture floating three feet off the ground. "I know," she said, reaching out a hand and giving Liz's a gentle squeeze, surprising her. "When I was eight, just before Sophie came to find me, I had an awful nightmare. I don't even remember what it was, now, but at the time it scared me half to death. When I woke up, the entire second floor of the house had separated from the first floor and was floating ten feet in the air." She chuckled softly. "Gave my parents quite a scare."

Looking down at her glass of water again, Liz thought of the last time she had a nightmare. She was at the mental hospital and had accidentally set the place on fire, killing almost everyone in it. Liz suppressed a shudder at the memory.

"I'll tell you what." Serena leaned back in her chair, watching Liz closely. "As soon as we find my friends, I will personally bring you to see Sophie." Liz looked up quickly but before she could say anything, Serena continued. "Until then, I'll tell you what she always told me and my pyrokinetic friend."

Holding her hand up, Serena let go of her glass of water. It floated in midair for a moment before it zoomed towards the sink, gently clinking down. "Sophie always told us that our powers are linked to our emotions. So, we only lose control of powers when we lose control of our emotions. Positive emotions are easier to accept than negative ones, therefore they have no affect on our abilities. When we can't control our negative emotions-- hurt, pain, loss, anger, anxiety-- we can't control ourselves. That's when things get dangerous and people get hurt. What helps me keep everything in check, is the thought of what would happen if I were to lose control.

"Now, Martina was a little hot-headed. She always was and always will be. The littlest things would set her off, and she, of course, would end up accidentally setting stuff on fire. It took forever, but Sophie taught her how to save her anger for when she needed it." Serena gave another soft laugh. "I always felt sorry for anyone on the receiving end of her wrath."

"What about the dreams," Liz asked, mentally taking notes on everything Serena was saying.

"Just remember," Serena stood up as she spoke, "it's _your_ imagination. If something you don't like starts happening, change it."

With a smile and not another word, Serena left Liz sitting in the kitchen. Her socked feet taking her down the halls of the B.P.R.D. and she realized she was heading for the library. _Maybe a little reading will make me sleepy again._

Abe drifted lazily around his tank. He had already finished his four books and he didn't need to sleep. _Sometimes_, he mused, _I feel like a goldfish._ Out of sheer boredom, he 'sent' his mind out and took peeks into everyone's dreams. Purely for entertainment.

Abe smiled inwardly. It seemed that even in his dreams, Hellboy was fighting demons and doing the whole 'lone hero' thing. Abe frowned slightly when he found that Liz was still awake. She hardly ever slept and it was starting to worry him. He made a mental note to clue in HB.

Moving on, Abe found himself looking in on the dream of Myers. A smile tugged on his lips when he saw the agent sitting in a classroom of first graders, completely naked, and being scolded by the teacher for not knowing the answer to one plus one.

Searching closer to the library, Abe found that someone was awake and moving in his direction. Serena. She was just outside the doors to the library and Abe moved to float in front of the windows.

The first thing that Serena noticed when she entered the library was how beautifully eerie it was. The large room was dark, the only light coming from those in Abe's tank. The lights shone through the water and glass, making the carpet glow a light blue. Every movement of the water was played out on the carpet, as well, the darker swirls of color cutting through the glowing blue.

The second thing Serena noted was that Abe was already at the window, waiting for her. She gave a small smile and made her way across the room, pulling a chair up beside the glass.

"Can't sleep?" Abe asked.

With a soft laugh Serena gave a slightly sarcastic reply. "Abe, you read my mind."

He returned the smile as best he could. "Was it a nightmare?"

Looking down at the hem of her night shirt, Serena began to play with it. "Yeah," she said quietly. "It felt so real, too."

"Hmm…" Abe was quiet for a beat. "Would you like to show me?"

"Why aren't you asleep?" It was a feeble and pathetic attempt to change the subject but Serena had always been prideful to a fault and didn't want to let Abe know just how much the dream had scared her. It was childish, she knew, but she couldn't help herself.

"I don't need to sleep as much humans," he explained. "Just a quick catnap will suffice."

Serena laughed. "A fish that takes a cat nap. That's a new one."

Despite being called a fish, Abe had to smile as well, but it was short lived. When he saw Serena's smile fall and a troubled look cross her face, he decided to ignore her wishes and press the matter.

"Please, show me." He pressed one of his webbed hands against the glass window. "I promise I won't laugh. I won't even smile."

Snorting, Serena said, "You can barely smile as it is."

"Exactly. So. you don't have to worry." Serena gave a small, half-hearted laugh and shook her head. "Please?".

With a sigh, she agreed. "Alright," she said as she warily put her hand on the glass, over his.

The images flashed through Abe's mind and he could sense everything as though he himself were there, witnessing it all. Two young girls, playing a game in what appeared to be paradise. One girl, Serena, fell. She felt scared and hurt so she cried as any child would. The ground shook and Abe had to remind himself it wasn't real. There was a horrible, ear-piercing, cracking and he watched as the ground split right through the stone steps, the crevice ending right beside the young Serena.

A woman appeared and radiated calm. She soothed the crying girl and the earth stopped shaking. Standing up the girl turned into the Serena that Abe knew. The scenery changed with her. Turning from paradise to hell. It was a dungeon, cold, dank, and dark. Abe could smell blood and he heard screams. Five women were being tortured, calling for Serena's help, and he assumed they were her missing friends. Serena stood, frozen and unable to help them or herself.

Out of the running blood rose a monstrous dragon with deep black eyes. It stared at Serena. It growled, speaking to her. Then it lunged forward, ready to devour her.

The connection was suddenly broken and Abe knew that at this point, Serena had woken up. Slowly, he removed his hand from the glass, looking at Serena with his black eyes. She had pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly to keep from shaking. Abe knew what she was feeling, he had shared her fear during the connection. It was intense, overwhelming, and unlike anything he had ever felt.

"It was so real," whispered Serena, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to rid herself of the images. "Abe, what if I was Seeing?"

"Can you do that," he asked. Her fear still lingered in the air. She had barely managed to suppress it.

Serena shrugged. "Anyone can See to some extent." She shuddered and buried her face in her knees, taking deep breaths. She couldn't cry. She could not lose control of her emotions. _What if I was Seeing? What if that does happen to them? What if I do have to do this completely alone and I fail?_

Abe picked up on these loud thoughts. He pressed his hand to the glass again. "Serena," he said quietly, making her look up again. "You won't be alone. Hellboy, Liz, Myers, and myself will help you to the very end."

For a moment Serena could only stare. "Promise?" She felt like the smile child she had been in her dream.

He nodded. "I promise."

"You'll be there for me, a complete stranger, even as the world falls down?" She was understandably skeptical.

"Even as the world falls down," promised Abe again. "I have to be." He shrugged and gave his usual small smile. "It's in the job description."

For the first time in nearly two weeks, she laughed. It was a true, hardy, jovial laugh, from her belly. It echoed through the quiet library and Abe found himself wishing he had more facial movement.

"Abe," Serena said, when she had sobered enough to speak. "What would I do without you?"

"Hmm.. I suppose you'd have to explain all your troubles to Hellboy." He continued to smile as Serena continued to laugh.

**0-0-0-0**

"So," grunted the burly trucker that sat in driver's seat. "What's yer name?" Graying hair stuck out from under his hat and his dark, beady eyes glanced at the man sitting in the passenger's seat.

The eighteen-wheeler hit a small bump, jostling the driver and the passenger. "Josh," replied the young man, quietly. He was about twenty-three with light brown hair and blue eyes. Attractive by anyone's standards.

"Stan," drawled the trucker, giving the younger man a nod. "Where ya from, Josh?"

A wry smile played across his lips at the question. "Up north," he said vaguely. He knew his home had to remain a secret. _Home_. _I don't have a home anymore,_ he thought angrily.

The trucker, Stan, interrupted his thoughts. "Anywhere specific?"

For the first time, Josh broke his staring contest with the dashboard and looked at the trucker. "I'd rather forget, if that's okay with you." His soft voice wasn't harsh or accusing. It was just a simple request and Stan seemed to understand.

"I get a lotta young fellas like you runnin' from home," he said again. "I won't bother askin' 'bout it if you don' wanna tell." The truck jostled again as it hit another small bump on the darkened highway. "Ya headed to the city or am I droppin' ya off 'long the way?"

"New York City?" Josh asked. Stan nodded. "That will be fine. I can get another ride from there."

Stan didn't ask anymore questions, picking up on the slight note of finality in Josh's voice. As Stan continued to drive the big rig thought the night, Josh turned his attention to the small slip of paper in his hands. It didn't say anything except an address. An address for a place in Newark, New Jersey, called the B.P.R.D..

He just hoped he wasn't too late.


End file.
